SINGAPORE: The government is looking at reducing the toll rate at the Second Link during off-peak hours to encourage more people to use the checkpoint as part of efforts to reduce congestion at the Causeway.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the ministry will conduct a study on the number of vehicles using the Second Link and how the reduction of the toll rate would affect the checkpoint.
“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has instructed me to implement it as soon as possible, so it will be a short study. We will implement the toll reduction this year," said Liow.
He said the toll will be reduced to an attractive rate so that more people are encouraged to use the Second Link during off-peak hours. He, however, declined to say what the rate will be like.
He was speaking to the media after attending the 8th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders' Retreat here.
Liow said reducing the toll rate at the Second Link was one of the proposals discussed at the retreat to resolve the issue of congestion at the Causeway while awaiting the completion of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) in 2024.
"Another proposal is to increase the frequency of the KTM Bhd Tebrau shuttle service, We are grateful that the Singaporean government has agreed to increase the frequency to 31 trips a day.
"We hope to implement this by this year and increase it further to 36 trips a day next year. We had actually wanted to increase it further but there is an obstacle on the Singaporean side because they could not cope with the custom, immigration and quarantine process," said Liow.
He said the two government also discussed the issue of safe passage for ships in the east of the Johor Straits near the Pasir Gudang and Tanjung Langsat ports.
"At the moment, no ships are allowed to pass through the area after 9pm. I think it is time the two government agree on allowing ships to pass through the areas 24 hours a day.
“This will improve the efficiency of the two ports," he said.